12/9/2013 - Mixed Results for Afghanistan's Anti-Violence Against Women LawThe United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released their annual report on violence against women in Afghanistan yesterday, revealing mixed results of the country's Elimination of Violence against Women Law.
"A Way to Go: An Update on Implementation of the Law on the Elimination of Violence against Women in Afghanistan [PDF]," found that there was a 28 percent increase in reports of violence against women from 2012 to 2013 , but only 17 percent of those were prosecuted under EVAW - a small 2 percent increase from last year.
The law, which was issued by the executive decree of President Hamid Karzai in 2009, criminalizes 22 acts of violence against women and specifies punishment for perpetrators....

9/11/2013 - Afghanistan Leaders Discuss Need for More Women JudgesAt a four-day conference at the Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul last week, over 180 female judges affiliated with the Afghan Women Judges Association (AWJA) and other leaders discussed strategies for improving the number of Afghanistan's female judges and ensuring justice to those who come to the courts....

9/9/2013 - Taliban Murder Female Indian WriterLast Wednesday, a prominent female Indian writer was murdered by the Taliban outside of her home in the Paktika province after criticizing the terrorist group.
Sushmita Banerjee, 49, wrote a popular memoir in 1995 about her life as the wife of an Afghan man in Kabul while the Taliban ruled....

8/13/2013 - Afghan Activist and Former MP Seeks AsylumNoor Zia Atmar, one of the first female members of parliament in Afghanistan and an outspoken leader for women's rights in the country, has requested asylum after fleeing from her abusive husband....